A study conducted by The Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) and KPMG has revealed that the number of candidates placed into employment by recruitment agencies increased to a six-month high in May.
The study, which surveyed recruitment and employment consultants across the UK, also showed that there was a further increase in the supply of temporary staff – putting this at a ten month high.
Further to this, it was also revealed that the overall demand for staff has continued to increase with private sector vacancies showing a stronger trend than public sector roles. REC Chief Executive, Kevin Green commented:
“This month’s data is a strong indicator that the job market is picking up pace. Permanent employment is at a six-month high while the use of temps is also growing after last month’s blip. Recruiters tell us that employers are more optimistic and are planning to increase their temporary and permanent hiring. This is supported by the expansion of job vacancies and a slight increase in starting salaries.”
A separate study that was carried out by the Jobs Economist consultancy found that women have fared better than men on the employment front since the start of the recession. Whilst the number of women in work has increased by more than 250,000 in the last five years, male unemployment has fallen by 70,000.
The UK jobs market welcomed even more good news after the latest unemployment figures were released from the Office for National Statistics last week. The results revealed that unemployment in Britain fell by 5,000 in the three months leading up to April 2013 meaning that there are now 29.76 million people in employment in the UK.
With employment figures continuing to rise, the country has seen the number of benefit claimants at its lowest level in two years. Jobseeker’s Allowance claimants fell by a surprise 8,600 in May from just one month earlier which has led experts to believe that the economy’s return to growth really is happening.
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